


I've Gone To Take My Throne Above (But Don't Weep For Me 'Cause This Will Be The Labour Of My Love)

by Lilsciencequeen



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Drama, F/M, Mystery, Post-Season/Series 02 AU, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-17
Updated: 2017-09-06
Packaged: 2018-09-18 06:35:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9372491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilsciencequeen/pseuds/Lilsciencequeen
Summary: “Exactly. Hive. The first Inhuman. Banished to Maveth by the Kree millennia ago. It… it could possess anyone, anyone if they’re dead. Hive… Hive itself is a parasite and can control other Inhumans, it can possess them. Daisy is in danger. Hell, all Inhumans are in danger if Hive is back.”// Or a Hive!Jemma AU.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know I said I wouldn't write another multi-chapter until I finished some of my others one but I am trash and have written this. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed this.

She was back, after six months, she was back.

And to say they were relieved was an understatement.

It was one of the best feelings that they had ever felt.

Seeing her lying there, alive, in the remains of the Monolith.

After some effort, the team had managed to get both Jemma and Fitz out of the remains, she had collapsed, no longer able to stay awake after all that had happened to her.

And Coulson wasn’t surprised, they had no idea what she had suffered in the past six months. And just by the initial examination that Bobbi had performed, it wasn’t pretty.

She was underweight, and dehydrated and it wouldn’t take a therapist to know that she would be suffering from her experiences across the universe.

“How is she?” Daisy asked, once Bobbi entered the main area of the jet once again.

Bobbi shook her head. “She’s still asleep. I gave her a sedative just in case.”

“Is Fitz still with her?” Mack wondered, knowing that it was a redundant question but he still asked it anyway.

Bobbi nodded, taking a seat. “I don’t think he’ll be leaving her side for a while now.”

“Should he be in there with her?”

Bobbi shrugged, reaching forward and taking a biscuit from the plate that had been left there. “She’s been clear for radiation. There seems to be nothing wrong with her at the moment that we can pick up. We’ll have to wait to get back to base to conduct further tests.”

“At least she’s back,” Daisy commented.

Bobbi nodded. “She’s back.”

***

“Hey,” he whispered once she had woken up again. “How are you?”

She stared at him, blinking as if she couldn’t comprehend where she was. “Fitz,” she whispered. “Am I… is this real?”

He nodded, and reached over to take her hand. “Yeah, Jemma this is real. You’re home. You’re safe.”

She started crying, not really believing his words, something that Fitz understood; after being away for so long, on some hell planet, Jemma would have need some time readjusting to life back on this planet.  

“Hey,” he whispered, sitting on the bed beside her, wrapping her arms around him and she cried into his chest, as he rubbed his hands up and down her back, reassuring her, telling her that this was real, and that she was here. “You’re here, you’re here and this is real. I’m here. I’m real.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, pulling away and looking at him.

“For what?” he asked, wiping away her tears delicately.

“Crying. For being stupid.”

He shook his head. “You’re not being stupid, this is natural.”

“Jemma?” a voice asked. It was Bobbi, she was leaning against the doorframe. “How are you feeling this morning?”

She looked at the taller agent, frowning, scrunching her face up as if she were trying to decipher a puzzle.

Bobbi then looked at Fitz. “Are you okay, with…” she trailed off, as though Fitz knew what she was talking about.

Fitz sighed. “Yes.” He wasn’t happy about it, that much was obvious. Jemma looked between him and Bobbi, confusion across her face, confusion that was slowly morphing into panic.

“Fitz?” she asked. “What’s… what’s going on?”

Bobbi looked at her. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

Fitz, still holding her, placed a kiss to her forehead. “You’re going to be okay, yeah?”

She started fidgeting, and panicking. “Jemma,” came Bobbi’s voice. “I’m sorry.”

Then Bobbi injected with something, and darkness overtook her. “I’m sorry, Fitz but you know that we need to do it. Protocol.”

Fitz nodded, and stroked Jemma’s hair. “I know, I just hope that she’s okay.”

“She will be, Fitz. Don’t worry about it. We’ll help her get through this.”

***

“She’s back?” came Lincoln’s voice down the phone, though he sounded nervous about something.

“Yeah,” Daisy nodded. “She’s back. Bobbi is doing tests, making sure she’s okay. Everything seems fine at the minute, like other than the trauma…”

“Daisy,” his voice was a whisper now.

“What?” she asked, sensing that something was wrong. “Is everything okay?”

“I’ve been doing some research about the Monolith, with the Elders and those who I’m still in contact with.”

“Is everything okay?”

Silence.

“Lincoln, if something’s wrong. Just… just tell me.”

“Daisy, I have to go. Just… just keep her in isolation until I get there.”

“Lincoln?” Daisy asked, but there was silence on the other end of the line.

She shrugged, thinking that it was weird and pocketing the phone.

If her times were right, and nothing went wrong earlier, then Jemma would be waking up. And she wanted to see how her friend was. It had been so long since she had last seen her, and all she wanted to do was make sure that everything was okay.

So she headed back to medical, in the hopes of finding Jemma.

***

“What is that?” Fitz asked, pointing to the scan that was projected on the screen in front of them.

Bobbi shrugged. “I’m not sure. Not yet.” She frowned, stepping closer as if it would help her figure out what it was. “It looks alien.”

“You think it came from where she was?”

“Probably,” Bobbi said. “It looks… it looks like a parasite infection.”

“What does, what does that mean?” Mack asked, stepping forward from where he was leaning against the table.

“I don’t know,” Fitz said, trying to work out what it was, and what it could mean for Jemma. He ran his hands through his hair, feeling his stomach twist into knots.

Bobbi frowned. She had no idea what it was, but it couldn't be good. 

“We need to isolate her,” Mack said. “Just until we’re sure what this is.”

Fitz shook his head. “No. We can’t. Not after what she’s been through.”

Bobbi sighed. “We have to Fitz. I know she’s been through hell, but this… this could be dangerous. We just need to do this, until we work out what it is. Until we can solve this at least.”

“But what if this is her now, what if it’s something Inhuman?”

Before anyone could say anything else, there were footsteps and Lincoln burst into the room, looking horrified. “Where is she?” he demanded. “Please tell me she’s in isolation.”

Fitz shook his head. “No, not yet. She’s in medical.”

Lincoln nodded, comprehending something. “Okay,” then he stopped once he saw the scan. “No,” he whispered, stepping forward. It was as though his worst fears had been confirmed.

“What is it?” Bobbi asked. “Is it bad?”

“Bad?” Lincoln nodded. “That… that is the first Inhuman.”

“First Inhuman? But that’s… that’s parasites.”

“Exactly. Hive. The first Inhuman. Banished to Maveth by the Kree millennia ago. It… it could possess anyone, anyone if they’re dead. Hive… Hive itself is a parasite and can control other Inhumans, it can possess them.”

“Daisy,” Bobbi whispered, suddenly catching onto what Lincoln was saying. At just how serious the situation was. “Where is she?”

“I told her to stay away,” Lincoln explained.

Fitz shook his head. “She won’t. It’s Daisy and Jemma.”

Lincoln cursed. “We need to get to her before anything happens.”

“Wait,” Fitz said, as Lincoln was about to leave the room. “You said dead. You said Hive could possess anyone so long as they were dead. Is she… is Jemma dead?”

Lincoln turned. “I’ll… I’ll explain later. Please, we have to… Daisy is in danger. Hell, all Inhumans are in danger if Hive is back.”

***

Meanwhile, Daisy had just talked to Jemma and was now leaving medical, feeling more alive than she ever had.

It had been months since she had last seen Jemma and she had missed her oh so very much.

It had been nice to talk to her, to get to see her again.

And Jemma had taught her so much.

Opened her mind to so much.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to write this. The first part just took so long to get right. Hope you enjoy this part.

It was later that day that they moved Jemma to isolation from the medical bay. They said they were sorry they had to do it, but protocol dictated that they had to do it. Jemma shook her head, saying that she understood it. It was protocol after all. She still looked exhausted, massive black bags under her eyes. And if Jemma suspected that the team knew anything, she never said anything.

They were hoping that Jemma _didn’t_ suspect anything. That way they could try and work out what exactly had happened, and how they could solve this, without anything happening.

“So,” Lincoln said that afternoon to the room that contained Mack, Coulson, Bobbi, and Fitz. After some deliberation, they had decided to leave Daisy out of it. Even though she had denied seeing Jemma earlier that day, they weren’t risking it. Because there was a chance that Daisy had seen her. And if Jemma really had been infected by what Lincoln had called Hive, and if Hive did have the powers to sway Inhumans, it was too risky to have her in the briefing. “First plan of action. We need to keep all Inhumans away from her. We can’t risk any of them being swayed.”

“What about you?” Mack asked, trying to keep the accusatory tone out of his voice.

“What do you mean?”

Bobbi spoke up, sensing an unease between the two men. “Lincoln hasn’t been anywhere near Jemma yet, and they have to be close for Hive’s powers to work. And he knows the most about it. So he’s staying.”

Even though to Mack this was a risky move, and one that he disagreed with, he decided against arguing his point. Because at this point, Lincoln was the only one who knew what had happened to Jemma, what had possessed her and having been possessed by something alien as well, it wasn’t something that he would wish upon anyone. “So we develop a cure?”

Lincoln nodded. “If we can.”

“What’s the supposed to mean?” Fitz asked. “If we can?”

Lincoln gave a heavy sigh. “Hive was banished to Maveth for a reason. Hive was not only the first Inhuman but one of the most dangerous, with the power to sway others. But Hive isn’t a body so much, just parasites so the Kree banished the human that they possessed….”

“No,” Fitz interrupted. “We’re not sending Jemma back there again. Not after all she’s suffered. We’ve fought so much worse before, we can do this…”

Bobbi nodded, agreeing with Fitz. “Agreed. We’re not sending Jemma back.”

Lincoln nodded, resigning himself to the fact that they wouldn’t be able to take the easy way out of this. “Then what are we waiting for?”

***

Hunter and May came back to base as soon as they heard that there was something possessing Jemma when she came back to Earth.

“You go see her,” May said, as they walked through base.

“Why me?” Hunter said. But when May glared at him, he just nodded accepting his fate. They had gotten the details from the team on the way back to base. That one of them was to go and check on Jemma when they got back, as the team had started taking watches in case she tried anything. And they weren’t to mention what had happened at all. “Yeah, that’s fine. See you in what, just over an hour then?”

May gave a curt nod and headed off, leaving Hunter alone in the middle of the corridor. Knowing that he had no other choice, he headed towards isolation. To find Mack sitting in the chair outside it. “Alright?” he asked, throwing his backpack down in the corner. Mack looked up from what he was reading on the tablet. Jemma was curled up on the bed, seemingly asleep.

Mack nodded. “Yeah, she should be asleep for a while now. Bobbi gave her a sedative. You know the rules?”

Hunter nodded. Not to let her out. Not to let any Inhumans, Daisy in particular, close to her. It was nothing too hard. Surely even he could do it. “Yeah, course I do.”

Mack rose from the chair, and passed Hunter the tablet. “To pass the time.” And with that, he left, leaving Hunter to take the chair.

An hour passed, with nothing happening, not even the occasional whimper from Jemma in her sleep. Something that Hunter had been expecting, after all that she had went through.

Another half an hour passed, and May had come round, wanting to take the duty, but Hunter had waved her off, saying that he was okay and he would take her shift and she should relax, after all she had been through.

May just shrugged, and walked off, and it wasn’t long after that that Jemma woke up. She rolled over, blinking a number of times, as if taking in her surroundings, as if trying to make herself believe that she was here and not somewhere else.

“Alright?” Hunter asked, setting the tablet down and smiling at her.

She sat up, pulling the blankets around herself and once she got a grip on her surroundings, she nodded. “Yeah, yeah I am. Sorry I was just…”

Hunter dismissed her. “It’s fine. You’ve been through a lot. It’s understandable.”

She gave a small laugh. “That’s an understatement.”

“It is?” Hunter asked, knowing it was a stupid question, but there was so much that he didn’t know about Jemma and what she had suffered. All he knew was that she had been stranded on a different planet for over half a year.

She nodded. “It was… it was hell.” Her voice was soft and small, relieving the horrors that she had been through and her head dipped. “There wasn’t… there wasn’t enough water. There wasn’t enough food. And I was alone. I was so very very alone. And now the team, no one trusts me Lance. They think something happened to me over there, on the other side.” She was crying, silent tears streaming down her face and dropping onto the mattress.

“Did… did something happen to you Jemma?” He stood up, making his way closer to the glass and standing there. He knew he couldn’t do much, to reassure her that it was all going to be okay, that the team were going to help her. “Jemma, we can help. If you tell us what happened. We can help you, we _want_ to help you.”

She looked up at him now, raising her head and meeting his eyes. She was still crying but her voice was full of determination and fire. “Yes, something did happen to me over there. And no one, no one can help me. Not anymore.”

She stood up, and walked across the room, standing in front of the glass in front of Hunter but she wasn’t looking at him. She was looking at something behind him, her head slightly cocked as if comprehending whatever it was behind him.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered but before he had a chance to see what was happening he felt pain slice across the back of his head and his world faded to black.

Daisy had a smirk across her face. “You ready to leave?”

***

Alarms were ringing and the flashing of red filled the base. Lincoln looked up from his journal. “What’s that mean?” There was a sense of panic in the room. “Is someone breaking into the base?”

Bobbi pulled her chair beside Fitz’s as he pulled up the security camera feed. “No,” she said, shaking her head and her voice was low, full of fear. Something that no one had ever heard from Bobbi before. “They’re breaking out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks for checking out, and I really hope you enjoyed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So rather than use Jemma, I'm gonna use Hive as that instead. Hopefully, this doesn't get too confusing.

They had regrouped in Coulson’s office after losing both Jemma and Daisy. They needed to formulate a plan. To stop Jemma.

No, to stop Hive.

If Hive really was as dangerous as Lincoln said it was, then it wasn’t just them who were at risk.

An uncomfortable silence had formed in the room, the agents glancing at one another, at a loss for what to do next.

“I’m sorry,” Hunter offered again, his voice sincere as he held a bag of ice to the back of his head. Guilt consumed him. He had one job and he failed it, and now it wasn’t just them at risk, but something much greater.

“It’s not your fault,” Coulson spoke, his tone heavy, and his expression looking as though he had aged more than ten years since the morning. “Daisy was turned before we knew what was happening, and that thing… it isn’t Jemma.” He sighed. “We need to work out what to do next.”

May nodded her agreement. “But we have to be careful. We can’t lead emotions cloud our judgement.” Her gaze, steely, flickered around the room, and landed on Fitz a moment longer than he would have been comfortable with.

Of course May was talking about him. Of course she was talking about him. His emotions did tend to cloud his judgement and impact his decision making when it came to Jemma but… but she was hurting. He could tell it. Something alien was possessing her and he was going to stop it. He was going to get Jemma back. She wasn’t dead, she couldn’t be.

“Agreed,” Coulson spoke, knocking Fitz out of his thoughts. “Lincoln, what do we know of Hive?”

Lincoln took a breath and pushed himself of the wall from where he was resting, taking centre stage in the room. “Hive was one of the first Inhumans that was created by the Kree, but once the Kree saw the extent of its powers, they tried to kill Hive. It didn’t work. Hive simply took a new body, someone dead. Always dead. And it swayed Inhumans, wanting to make the world in its image. Eventually, they constructed the Monolith, banishing Hive and its vessel to Maveth. Has been there ever since.”

Coulson nodded. “And Fitz, your research on the Monolith, what does it indicate?”

Fitz shrugged. “The documents are old, the translations aren’t exact but it seems to have been used almost as a way of sacrificing people. Sending them to Maveth. For what reason, I don’t know. An offering perhaps? A new vessel?”

“I do.” Lincoln looked around the room. “Not all Inhumans that were swayed, not all of them were killed. Some managed to flee, but despite the distant, despite the constellations that separated them, they were still followers. Still worshippers, devoted until the end. And they wanted to bring Hive back to this world. Legend has it that they passed this down their families, that these worshippers still exist today and have been doing the same. Been trying to bring Hive back."

“Do they have a name.”

Lincoln looked grim. “They old name was lost to time but today, they’re commonly known as Hydra.”

***

Daisy watched her as she paced about. Jemma… no not Jemma. Not anymore. Jemma was gone. Dead. Not to come back. And she knew she should feel sad about it (was that what that feeling in her stomach was? Grief?) but she wasn’t.

She felt ecstatic, awake, more alive than she ever had felt before. And it was all thanks to Hive.

Who, at the moment, was hunched over the laptop, in the dingy hotel room they were currently occupying. She had been informed that it was only for the night they were staying here, that they had somewhere waiting for them, that they couldn’t go there. Not yet anyway.

Daisy didn’t object. She was more than happy to follow along with Hive and whatever it wanted. It was the saviour, it would liberate them and free them all. No one else, their team especially... they couldn’t see it yet. But they would, soon. They would soon understand all this.

Hive had promised her that.

But first, they had to enact their plan. Her job, Hive had told her, was of the upmost importance. She had to find new Inhumans, those who were to join their cause. And she had so far found a number of them, ready and willing to help. They just had to get to them.

Before S.H.I.E.L.D. got to them.

“Daisy.” The one word knocked her out of her thoughts. Though it was Hive speaking, it was with Jemma’s voice, something that she was still getting used to. But it wasn’t Jemma’s voice. Not really.

There was a coldness to it, a dead undertone that seemed threatening.

Daisy looked up from her tablet. “Yes?”

“We’re moving. Tonight.”

“Is everything okay?” Daisy asked, her tone anxious.

Hive smiled, lips curling upwards as it turned the laptop to face her. There was a picture on it, of a man. He seemed middle aged and was accepting some form of award.

“Who’s he?” Daisy asked, tilting her head and frowning at the picture.

A wicked grin from Hive. “He? He can solve all our problems.”

“He can?”

Hive nodded. “We just have to find him.”

“Can we do that?”

“Oh, that will be easy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at me, actually updating stuff. And I have changed the whole Hive background making it work better for this fic. And this was never really that canon compliant to begin with, was it? Thanks so much for your support, I love hearing about what you think of this!


	4. Chapter 4

“Holden Radcliffe.” Fitz stood in front of screen in Coulson’s office, the picture of the man in question behind him.

Hunter frowned. “And who is he?”

“Transhumanist. Recently fired from GT Agrochemical. He was trying to make genetically modified animals that were resistant to parasites, except he was conducting experiments that were illegal…”

“You think Hive is looking for him?” Lincoln asked, piecing together what Fitz was saying. It made sense, it made a lot of sense.

“I _know_ Hive is looking for him.” Fitz swiped across on the tablet that was holding, and the screen changed from Radcliffe to what looked like a motel reception. Daisy and Hive where there, seemingly checking in. “They checked in last night, and internet searches coming from that location indicated not only Radcliffe was being searched for but the location of Inhumans…”

“They’re building an army,” Lincoln said, terrified. He had heard only the tales that had been passed down the generations of Inhumans, and if Hive was half as bad as the stories had said, then they were still in trouble. “Hive wants to continue what it started, all those years ago... Making the world in its image.”

“And Radcliffe is important to that, how?” Hunter asked, looking around the room.

“They want to make new Inhumans,” Bobbi breathed, unable to believe it. “They want to recreate the Kree experiments.”

“And Radcliffe can do that?” Hunter asked, looking between Bobbi and Fitz now, the only two in the room with the qualifications to fully understand what was going on.

“He could,” Bobbi began cautiously. “They have Daisy’s blood…”

“And Hive retains the memories of all the bodies it possesses. Hive will have if all of Jemma’s memories, all the research she did on the Inhumans before…” he trailed off. “Before Maveth.” He settled on that, rather than before she had died. Because Fitz was still refusing to believe that she had died, but everyone else had. They had accepted it. There was no other way for Hive to be possessing Jemma unless she had died. As much as it had hurt the team to come to terms with that the past number of days, they had, knowing that it was what they had to do, knowing it was the best option. They couldn’t let their emotions cloud their judgement for this mission. Not when there were so many lives at risk.

“But,” May pointed out, finding a flaw in what could otherwise be seen as a perfect idea as to what could be happening. “if Hive retains the memories, surely Jemma’s memories would be enough to do what needs to be done.”

Fitz thought for a moment but never got a chance to answer May, as it was Lincoln who spoke next. “Maybe not… Jemma only knows the basics of Inhumans, I’ve been looking at her research. She knows what transforms them but not _how_. She never got that far in her research. Hive, meanwhile would also know that, but won’t have the exact skills, the exact knowledge, the ability.”

 But Radcliffe could… the man has no morals,” Fitz continued. “He’s obsessed with living forever, and if offered that choice, he would do anything. And he… he loves a challenge… create the first Inhumans from nothing but some blood and fish oils… Challenge accepted.”

“So how do we stop that?” Hunter asked,

“Simple,” Fitz said, with a shrug of his shoulders. He swiped at his tablet and the picture of the motel vanished, and another building appeared on the screen. “Transhumanist bar, Radcliffe frequents there, it’s kinda a big deal. Illegal black market, tech that has yet to be approved, tech that hasn’t been approved. And he’s due there again in tomorrow night.”

“You think they’re going?”

“I _know_ they’re going. Flights have been booked for them to be in Bucharest that night.”

Bobbi frowned. “Daisy’s not usually this careless.”

“It could be Hive,” Coulson argued, speaking for the first time. “Lincoln, you said that they want to impress Hive, Inhumans that are swayed, they would do anything.”

The Inhuman nodded. “Yeah they would. Are you saying, what, Daisy is so obsessed with impressing Hive that she’s forgetting everything she knows?”

Coulson nodded. “I am.”

“But surely that’s a good thing,” Hunter argued. “We can figure out their next move, and beat them to it.”

“It could also be a trap,” May countered. “Daisy could be doing this on purpose. Leading us to them.”

“Whatever the case,” Fitz cut in, his voice rising. “We need Radcliffe. His work on parasites, and parasitic lifeforms, it could help free Jemma, Daisy from Hive.”

Lincoln felt his stomach sink. _Free Jemma_ , he was still adamant that they could rescue the biochemist… It had to stop, he was only going to end up hurting himself, hurting his team. “Fitz…”

“We’re going to Bucharest,” Bobbi cut in, stopping Lincoln from finishing his sentence (not that he wanted to when he saw the look that the blonde gave him).

“We’re going to Bucharest,” Lincoln agreed, trying to hide the anger in his tone.

***

They had arrived in the country early in the morning; they had travelled by commercial airline, something that had made Daisy nervous. S.H.I.E.L.D. would be looking for them, of course they would be. They would call Hive dangerous, a threat, something that needed to be eliminated. But that wasn’t the case; they didn’t understand, not yet anyway.

Hive had promised her that. Had told her they would understand; they would know the pain that they had suffered, the hurt. Hive promised they would feel the freedom that she now felt, the liberation. And once they did, they would understand, they would understand everything.

“Daisy,” Hive said, entering the main room of the hotel they were staying in as they got ready to find Radcliffe, the man who could help them. “Are you ready?”

Daisy looked up, and nodded. She cast a glance at herself in the mirror; she was wearing a short black cocktail dress, something that she had picked out. It fitted the dress code of the bar that Hive said they were visiting the night, the one where they would find Radcliffe.

“Good.” Hive smiled, but it wasn’t the smile that Jemma would normally smile; one that was bubbly and full of life. But this wasn’t that, this one was cold and calculating, harsh and dead. Hive reached for the jacket, a blood red with silver embroidery that was lying on the back of a chair and slid it on. “Come. We have to ensure we reach Radcliffe before S.H.I.E.L.D. do.”

“You think they’re after us?” Daisy asked, following Hive down the corridor and out of the front of the hotel, ignoring the farewells of the receptionist.

“They have to be, we’ve not been careful the past number of days.”

“I’m sorry.” She felt the sinking, churning sensation of guilt in her stomach.

“Not to worry,” Hive reassured, pushing open the door to the bar and entering. Daisy had flashed the IDs she had made for the night, and they weren’t even double checked. “If they interrupt us before it’s time, we’re more than equipped to deal with them.”

***

“You think they’re here yet?” Fitz asked, pulling at the collar of his shirt. Bobbi batted his hand away, scanning the room.

“I can’t see them,” she whispered as a trio of people pushed past them, hoping to get to the bar.

A long low whistle came through the comms, from Mack. And Fitz knew why, Mack was seeing what he was seeing through the glasses except more; he was seeing all the technological modifications that everyone in the bar had. “ _I didn’t know half this stuff existed Turbo_ ”

“Yeah, well,” Fitz replied. “The community is extremely secretive, we’re lucky we even got in here.”

“ _Just stay safe. If Hive really is here with Daisy, we know how powerful Daisy is. If you need to leave, leave. You and Bobbi know where I am?”_

Fitz pushed the glasses back up his face again, looking around the room. “Yeah, yeah we do…” But he trailed off, having stopped the people in question that they were looking for.

Hive, strutting across the room as if they owned the place, and Daisy following behind. He set off to make after them but Bobbi stopped him. “Fitz wait.”

“What for?”

Bobbi sighed. “We can’t just go charging after them. It’s too dangerous.”

“But they’re going after Radcliffe, right?”

“Yeah but…”

“That’s two problems solved in one. We can just Ice them, bring them back to base and solve all our problems,” he rambled on but stopped once he saw the look on Bobbi’s face. “You don’t think we can do it?”

She sighed, hating herself for what she was about to do. “I don’t think we can Ice them, they’re too powerful…”

Fitz cursed under his breath.

“But we’re going to get them back. Okay, I promise you that. We just need to find Radcliffe before them, okay?”

Fitz nodded. Because Bobbi was right; they were going to get Daisy and Jemma back. No matter what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the support with this, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

Daisy followed behind Hive as they swept across the room, looking as if they owned the very room. Radcliffe was supposed to be here tonight, Hive having reassured her that he would be. That everything would go to plan, and if didn’t… well that issue could be easily resolved.

Daisy had been nervous, wondering what would happen if Radcliffe didn’t come but Hive had told her not to worry. As soon as the words had been said, a sense of peace, a sense of serenity had overtaken her, flowing through her veins.

It had been like that ever since she had met Hive, that day in the Medical. She had still thought that it was Jemma, her best friend, the woman that she thought of as a sister but it wasn’t. Hive had explained everything, saying that Jemma had died weeks after being on Maveth, not having found water in time.

Hive had found her, dying and in pain, half buried in the sand. Hive explained that Jemma had begged for help, knowing that if she didn’t, she would die. Hive, having been in control of a previous vessel, an astronaut by the name of Will Daniels, had knelt down, telling her that there was little that could be done, that death would soon occur.

And it did. Jemma had died alone and in pain.

And then Hive had possessed her. She had been angry upon first hearing that, that someone, _something_ could do such a thing but then Hive, he, she, it they, it didn’t matter, had shown her the way. She felt free, she felt liberated.

But that had been several days ago now. Now they were here, searching the backrooms of a bar in Bucharest in the hopes of finding Holden Radcliffe. Hive said he was vital, that his work on parasitic organisms would be important to their mission. That he was key to ensuring that their goal, their mission would be a success.

Daisy hoped that was true, that they would be able to find him. Because finding him would stop her worrying about the team, and the team worrying about her. They didn’t understand, not yet anyway, the team who had become like family to her. Fitz, Coulson, May, Bobbi, all of them, they would all understand soon.

They would understand what she felt.

What Hive felt.

What Jemma had once felt.

***

Fitz couldn’t calm the anxious fluttering in his stomach as he and Bobbi were taken from the main area in the bar, to a back area where Radcliffe was supposed to have been. They knew he was making appointments with potential clients tonight, and they had used that to their advantage. They had made an appointment with him, hoping they could get him to come with them and work out a way to save Jemma, to free Daisy.

The corridors were dark and damp, a slightly musty smell to them as they followed the assistant down one of the corridors. After taking one more left, they stopped, the assistant smiling as she pushed open the door.

Fitz smiled his thanks as he followed Bobbi into the room.

“You must be Dr. Morse and Dr. Fitz,” Radcliffe said, looking up from his desk, then glanced over their shoulders to his assistant. “That’ll be all Aida.”

She nodded, then closed the door, leaving only the three scientists in the room. “So,” he began, taking them in. “Which one of you is Morse, and which one is Fitz.”

“Fitz,” the engineer said, gesturing to himself. “Morse.” This time he gestured at her, and she nodded.

“But I prefer Bobbi.”

Radcliffe nodded in understanding but focused his attention wholly on Fitz. “A fellow Scotsman. Now, what can I do for you?”

Fitz reached into his jacket pocket and unfolded the piece of paper in it. Radcliffe accepted it, confusion lacing his features. “Have you seen these two? Have they come to speak to you?”

The older man shook his head. “No. Have they?”

“They’re going to,” Fitz began rambling, knowing he had to get it out before it was too late, before they were found. “They’ve been, they’ve been infected by an alien parasite. On the brain, in the brain, we’re still trying to work it out.”

“And you need my help?”

Bobbi nodded, taking over from Fitz. She knew that he would let his emotions interfere with the mission and had even advised Coulson against sending him, asked if Piper, Davis, Nathanson could go instead. But Coulson had disagreed, saying that Fitz would be the best one to send, that he had all the relevant knowledge and if anyone could convince Radcliffe to join their cause, it would be the young engineer.

Radcliffe stared at the picture once, then reached over, passing it back to Fitz. “And just _who_ is it I’m working with? I’d rather not get tangled up with the likes of Hydra. They do have their tentacles in just about everything now.”

“S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Radcliffe frowned, shaking his head. “See, last I’ve heard of them is that they fell when Captain America dropped the Helicarriers into the Triskelion.”

“No, that’s not true… some of us, we weren’t all Hydra…” Fitz tried to protest when a scream echoed down the corridor. There was a sudden silence after it, and he turned to look at Bobbi.

“Stay here,” she warned, pulling out her baton, and heading back out the door they had come in. Radcliffe tried to follow her, but Fitz grabbed his forearm, stopping him.

“You can’t.”

“Why not? That was Aida’s scream!” The anger was radiating of the older Scotsman, and Fitz dropped his grasp stepping back.

“You can’t,” he tried again, his voice lower this time. More timid, as if he were afraid. Of Radcliffe or the possibility of what was outside, he wasn’t too sure. And he wasn’t sure what was worse.

A sudden bang as the doors on the far side of the room behind the desk flew open and came off their hinges. Radcliffe’s computer came off his desk too, smashing into a thousand pieces on the ground. It took a moment for the ringing in Fitz’s head to stop, from him to be able to take in what was happening in front of him.

Daisy, standing in the doorway, dust raining down on her from where she must have used her powers. Her eyes scanned the room with an intense urgency and then she stopped Radcliffe. Taking a number of large steps, she made her way over the rubble and grabbed Radcliffe, and began roughly pulling him away.

Fitz knew he had to act quick. “Daisy, wait please.”

She frowned, stopping in the stop and spinning back to face Fitz.

“Please, Daisy. You don’t have to do this. We want to help you. Jemma.”

She raised her arm and suddenly, Fitz found himself unable to breath, the oxygen caught in his throat. There was an invisible force pressing against his neck. He tried to reach up, to be able to free himself, to be able to breath but he couldn’t. He couldn’t do anything. He was defenceless against Daisy’s attack.

“No,” she said, a heavy undertone of venom to her voice. “No, you understand nothing. You don’t get it. Jemma, she’s dead. She’s _gone_. But you’ll understand soon. Hive, Hive will open your mind and free you. And if you try and follow us, you might not be so lucky next time Fitz.”

She dropped her hand and he dropped to the ground.

By the time he was able to stand again, once he had regained his breath, Daisy and Radcliffe were gone.

***

The two women had taken him to an abandoned town hours after they dragged him from his office in Bucharest. He had tried to escape but he was terrified, having seen the bloodied skeletons that lined the corridors so attempt it, not wanting that to happen to him.

He had no idea how they had gotten to America from Romania but they had.

And now, now he was handcuffed, sitting in front of the woman who went Hive. She was leaning forward, with her elbows on the desk that separated them and he was able to take her in for the first time. Her eyes were a soft brown but completely dead and black bags clung to the underside. She seemed restless as she sat there, shifting in her own skin if it were uncomfortable.

Eventually, she broke the silence that had formed between them. “I suppose you’ve heard of the Inhumans?”

Radcliffe nodded, maybe a little too eagerly. “Yeah, yeah I have. Who hasn’t?”

A wicked smile crossed her face, the corners of her mouth turning up. It seemed his answer had impressed her but it did nothing to settle his nerves. It was just the vibe that she put out that unsettled him, there was something about her, something that he couldn’t quite but his finger on. “So you can help us then.”

It wasn’t a question. It was a statement, a demand and it seemed as though he would have no choice when it came to complying, well if he wanted to live that is. “Well, I suppose…” he stuttered, unable to find the words he wanted to say. “What is it you want done?”

“I want you to make new Inhumans?”

He frowned. Was that possible? What he had heard from the news reports was that you had to carry a specific gene to be Inhuman and that it had to be triggered by something.

“Oh,” Hive said, leaning back in her seat. “How do you think the Kree created me all those years ago?”

“Are you saying… are you saying you’re the first?”

She nodded, a spark of something flashing in her eyes momentarily. “The very first. This isn’t my original body. That died many years ago. But I lived on, taking the body of those who died where I had been banished. It wasn’t until dear Leopold Fitz brought me back home that I had access to my people. I can free them now, I can give them the life they deserve.”

“But that’s not enough for you? Just freeing the Inhumans?”

A shake of her head. “No. It’s not. I want everyone to know, I want everyone to understand the pain, the pain that I know, the pain that I carry. And you are the one best suited to ensuring that this can happen Holden.”

He gave a quick nod of understanding, and rubbed his hands. This seemed like a challenge, something that he hadn’t had in a while now. And doing this, making this experiment would ensure his survival. “Great. Where do I begin?”

***

They returned to the Zephyr, defeated. They hadn’t been able to get what they had come for, Radcliffe. They were no closer to finding a way of stopping Hive and freeing Daisy.

At the thought of Hive, Bobbi shuddered. She had seen just what Hive’s powers could do. The corpse of Radcliffe’s assistant, well what had remained of her. All that remained was a bloodied skeleton, as if everything else had been stripped off.

It had to be Hive, and the parasites.

But they wouldn’t know for another number of hours, once the lab results came back.

She wanted to agree with Fitz, to say that Jemma was still alive, still in there somewhere but with each day, she was losing hope. Now it was about stopping Hive before any more damage, any more death could occur.

Hive was too dangerous. Far too dangerous to be allowed to survive. They had no idea just how many powers the Inhuman possessed. They couldn’t risk anything.

Fitz was more than annoyed, blaming himself for not doing more. For not stopping Daisy, for not rescuing Jemma. But no one was annoyed. He had done all he could without getting hurt, without being killed.

They needed him alive for this. They couldn’t do it alone.

“What did Daisy say?” Coulson repeated, and Fitz looked up from what he was looking at on his phone.

He sighed, reluctant to meet the Director’s eyes. “She said that we didn’t understand. Not yet but we soon would. She also said if we followed her, she would kill us.”

“We would understand soon?” Hunter asked, confusion heavy in his tone and his face scrunched up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Fitz shrugged, unsure of what to say. His mind wasn’t at the debrief he had more important things on his mind.

“Hive’s building an army,” Lincoln answered instead, his voice low. He was terrified. Their worst fears had come true. The very thing they didn’t want to happen was already beginning, and if they didn’t act now, there wouldn’t be anything that anyone could do to stop it. They needed to stop Hive as soon as they could. The consequences, they weren’t even worth thinking about. “Hive’s building an army of Inhumans. Those that can be controlled. They’re gonna use Radcliffe to recreate the Kree experiment.”

“Good thing,” Fitz said, sliding the phone across the table, a map with a red dot flashing on it. “That we know his location.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's only gonna be 3/4 more chapters. Thanks for all the support when it comes to this, so glad that you're enjoying this!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another surprise update from me! I am aiming to get as much of my multichapter fics done during the next couple of months. Thanks for all your continued support. I'm so glad that you're enjoying this.

“And that’s you done,” he proclaimed, removing the needle from her arm. She rubbed at the spot once he had but didn’t move from the stool. She just sat there, a vacant expression on her face. He had taken more blood from her this time, but not as much as to cause her harm though she wouldn’t feel the best for a while. “You’re gonna feel a bit meh for a while but taking it easy will help.” He shot an anxious look at the woman, at the one that seemed to be called Hive and felt his stomach twist. They had been here for days now, and they had made no progressive in recreating the Kree experiment and it seemed to be annoying her, causing her to become frustrated. And he had seen just what she could do to people, and since he valued his life very much, he wanted to avoid that happening to him as much as possible.

She raised an eyebrow, her eyes cold and steely. “Will it work this time?”

He froze, unsure of what to say. He knew he had to tread carefully around her. “It should do.” But every other time, it had failed, no new Inhumans being created. Instead, those who had been chosen for the experiment died long, painful deaths.

She left out a frustrated breath through her nose, running her hands through her hair and momentarily averted her gaze from him, turning to Daisy. “You can leave.”

Daisy frowned, obviously worried. “Are you sure?”

Hive nodded. “Yes. I’m more than capable of handling this myself.”

Daisy nodded this time, pushing herself of the stool and was halfway out of the room when Hive called to her again, her voice softer this time (if that were possible). “And get something to eat. I can’t lose you.”

Daisy said she would and then left, leaving just him alone with what was supposed to be the first Inhuman. He swallowed hard, and made his way over to a desk, flicking through the many pages that he had in an attempt to distract himself, to postpone this conversation as much as he could.

“Will. It. Work?” her voice came again, angrier this time and there was venom laced in every word. He looked up from the pages and found her standing on the other side of the desk, her gaze fixed on him. She was leaning over the desk, both hands on it and her arms rigid, her face only inches from his, so close that he could smell her breath, something that smelt of death and decay.

“Well, now…” he began, hoping to give some long-winded answer that would hopefully confuse her. “You see, the blood from Daisy, although it is Inhuman it isn’t what was used in the original Kree experiment. You said that it was their blood that was used. Using Inhuman blood, that won’t suffice. But Kree blood…”

“Daisy has Kree blood in her, bodily fluids. Why do you think that she volunteered to be the one to donate, rather than us just using the Terrigen? The fish oils?”

His eyes went wide, and with any luck, they would be bulging. “She has?” He couldn’t keep the shock out of his tone.

“Of course,” Hive replied as though it was obvious. “She was shot a couple of years ago when her team were on a mission together and it was the only thing that saved her life, despite everything I did, I wasn’t good enough.” If Radcliffe wasn’t imagining things, he could have sworn he heard sadness in her tone. And there was something else about it, something that he couldn’t quite place his finger on. Not yet anyway.

“You knew her? You tried to save her?” This was the first time that Hive had opened up about anything besides this and though he knew that it was dangerous, asking these questions pressing the matter, he couldn’t help it. Call it a scientist’s mind but he was curious.

“I wasn’t always like this. This vessel, it wasn’t always a vessel. It belonged to a one Jemma Simmons. They were on the same team with S.H.I.E.L.D., had been for a number of years. One of the missions, before the rise of Hydra, was tracking something, the finer details aren’t important and Sk-Daisy was shot. And near death and it was a drug made from Kree blood, Kree bodily fluids that saved her, that brought her back from the brink of death.” She shook her head, hair falling around her face. “The pain, the fear of not being good enough, its remained with Jemma ever since. And the pain, it just kept building up and up and up. I don’t think that I’ve ever met anyone who has a much pain and as much agony as Jemma does. And it hurts, it’s a never-ending pain in my head. A never-ending agony. And I _hate_ it. Her suffering, her agony. I want it to stop and the only way that I can do that… I need others to understand, they need to know what she’s going through and this needs to work. They need to know... they need to understand!” Her breath was coming in rapid pants, filling the silence that had settled in the room. “They need to understand.”

***

It had been days since the mission in Bucharest had failed; but they had found the abandoned warehouse that Hive was using. Where the new Inhuman army would be created. And Fitz wanted to move out, to go but no matter how many times he had discussed it with Coulson, the answer had always been no. They had no plan, no way to defeat Hive.

“But that doesn’t matter!” Fitz had argued, raising his voice, anger heavy in his accent. “I _know_ can do this, rescue Jemma. I _know_ she’s in there. If I can just get through to her, if I can just talk to her.”

“The answer’s no,” had been Coulson’s reply, an obvious answer but it wasn’t the one that Fitz wanted.

“She’s one of us!” Fitz had protested, refusing to accept Coulson’s answer as certainty. Jemma, she couldn’t be dead. He refused to believe that.  She couldn’t be dead. She just couldn’t be. A life without Jemma, it wasn’t something that he wanted to even think about. “You just can’t give up on her.”

A heavy sigh from Coulson. “She’s gone Fitz, you have to accept that. We have to move on. Jemma would want us to do that, for us to move on.”

Fitz tried, and failed, to conceal a groan of frustration. “And Daisy? Are you giving up on her as well, Sir?”

“Agent Fitz…” Coulson’s tone was cautionary, warning him not to go any further. “As much as I want to admit that Jemma’s not dead, we have to be honest with ourselves. We can’t… we have to move on and accept her loss and find out how to help Daisy, how to rescue her from Hive.”

“I thought you weren’t allowed to have favourites, _Sir._ ” Fitz just shook his head, and stormed out of Coulson’s office and slammed the door behind him, unable to stand there anymore.

When he left the office, he had no idea where he was heading, all he knew was he needed to get away from Coulson. Because he _was_ going to save Jemma, stop Hive and free Daisy. He was, despite what everyone said, despite what everyone thought.

He continued to make his way through the base, his mind too focused on the thoughts racing through it that he wasn’t paying much attention to where he was walking and before he really even knew what was happening, he was pushing open the door to her bunk.

Everything was the same as it had been the past six months, nothing had changed; her pyjamas were still folded neatly on her chair, her bag of freshly washed clothes still hadn’t been put away and her notebook was still sitting on the bedside table. The only thing that had changed was her bed, looking as though it had been slept in. And it had. He had slept in it on some of his darkest nights when Jemma had been away. It had been a way to reassure himself, a way to be close to her when she wasn’t here, when everyone thought she was dead, never to come back.

He didn’t remember closing the door behind him, kicking off his shoes and heading to her bed, curling up on it and burying his face in her pillow, the first tears starting to fall and soaking the fabric. He didn’t know how long he was there for when there was a knock on the door. He sat up, wiping his tears away using the sleeve of his shirt, and blinked, taking in the room.

The knock came again. “Fitz?” It was Hunter’s voice outside the door, concern laced in it. He rose from the bed, and padded across the room in his socks, and opened the door, seeing May, Bobbi and Hunter standing there. He frowned, wondering what the three of them where doing.

“Are you okay?” It was Bobbi who asked the question this time, worry laced across her features and heavy in her eyes.

He sighed, a long heavy breath escaping him. He didn’t know how he felt, he hadn’t known how he felt for days now. Awful wasn’t an adequate word to describe the emptiness in him, the hollowness that he had been feeling for so long now. He looked between the three of them, only know realising that they were dressed in tactical gear, as if ready for a mission. He frowned, trying to work out what mission had been planned for today. “What?” he just about managed to ask when a smirk crossed Hunter’s face.

“We’re going to rescue them?”

His eye went wide and he was sure that they would be bulging at this point. “Daisy? Jemma?”

May gave a brief nod of her head. “You think you can do it? You think you can save Jemma?”

Fitz nodded. He had never been surer of everything else in the world. He could do it. He would do it. “I can.”

“Then let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's only two more chapters left of this, and I will try and write them as quick as I can but thank you for all your continued support, it just makes me so happy! Hope you enjoyed this update!


	7. Chapter 7

They arrived where Hive had set up their base, where they were creating the new Inhumans, some dusty abandoned warehouse that hadn’t been used for years, early in the morning. It hadn’t taken them long to get to the place, and surprisingly, to get through the security that had been set up. It seemed that under Hive’s sway, Daisy wasn’t being as careful as she normally was, or there was something else at play. That this was a trap and Hive _wanted_ the team to come to them.

They heard the shouts. Of course they did, they were nearly impossible to miss, Jemma’s voice screaming at someone on the other side of a heavy metal door. Fitz looked over his shoulder, casting a glance at Bobbi. He could see the fear laced on her face as he reached forward, hand on the door but not yet pushing it open. No one said anything, no one even moved but on the other hand, no one stopped him either.

Taking in a breath, and then he pushed the door open. The metal thing creaked open and it caused the voices, the noise, the commotion on the other side seemed to stop immediately. Hive spun to face him and it was so weird seeing Jemma standing there, eyes completely dead. There was something different about Hive’s posture, something so different from how Jemma used to stand. There was an air of confidence about Hive, the very thing radiating of them. The edges of their lips curved up into a malicious grin and they raised an arm, stopping Daisy in her tracks. “There’s no need,” Hive said, casting a glance at the Inhuman. “They’re just here to talk.” Hive turned back to him, and he felt as though that someone had walked over his grave, a chill making its way down his spine. “Leopold… no…” Hive’s face scrunched up, and it was so weird seeing something so evil, so dangerous doing such a simple action with Jemma’s face. Whenever Jemma did it, it was cute, it was adorable but it wasn’t now. It was cold, sinister, and it sent shivers done his spine.

“Jemma…” Fitz interrupted, trying to get through to Jemma but Hive spoke again, their tone calculating, as if they knew what they were doing, as if they knew they had the whole room in the palm of their hand.

“No… no that’s not your name… you don’t like it. It makes you think of your father and the pain that you suffered… Fitz. Yes, that’s what you like. Fitz.” Hive tilted their head, looking at Fitz as if he were a puzzle that needed to be solved. “Why are you here?”

Fitz shot another glance back at his team, back at May, Bobbi and Hunter and it was Hunter who prompted him with a brief quick nod of the head. He turned back to Hive. “We’re here to help you Jemma.”

Something flashed in Hive’s eyes, something that Fitz couldn’t read. “You’re here to help?”

Fitz nodded, taking another step forward, feeling his heart pounding in his chest, the anxiety twisting his stomach. He knew that if he made one wrong move, said one wrong word, he may not walk out of this encounter alive. His eyes took in everything in the room, and he saw Daisy standing there, arms by her side, a nervous energy radiating off her as if she were ready to fight. “Yeah, Jemma, I’m here to help you, I’m here to take the pain away…”

Hive shook their head. “No… no you’re not helping. You don’t… you don’t understand.”

“Then let me,” he tried, really hoping that he could get through to Jemma, hoping that he was right, that Jemma really was alive and just imprisoned by Hive, and not dead like everyone else thought she was. “Please, let me… let us help. Help us to understand.”

“ _I’m_ the only one who can help her,” Hive replied, and the words struck Fitz as odd but he was still able to take another step forward, no one stopping him. “You don’t know the pain, the hurt she’s suffered in recent years, all she’s went through.”

“Then let us.” Fitz was all but pleading now, repeating his words as he was unable to find anything else to say, words failing him. Everything was falling into place now, and he was working out just _why_ Hive wanted to create new Inhumans. At just what their end game was. “Help us to understand.”

“You will,” Hive replied. “One day, one day you’ll understand and one day… she won’t be alone. Not anymore.”

“Jemma,” it was May who spoke this time, taking a step closer. Hive spun to face her, confused. Confused as to why May was speaking or confused as to why May was saying Jemma, Fitz didn’t know. “I know you’re in there. And I know how strong you are, just how strong you are but I also know how much pain you’re in, I’ve carried that pain before, I carry that pain. I don’t want you to hurt like me…”

“She won’t,” Hive countered but they looked more uncertain this time, as if they couldn’t find something to truly counter May’s argument. “Not anymore. Everyone… you’ll understand, you’ll know!”

“You’re trying to help her,” May continued, also having worked out what was happening. “You want us to understand her pain, so you want us to share the pain.” A nod. And May took in a breath, calming herself. “Then let the girl go. Let her go and let us help her. You’re killing her, causing her more pain. You want to protect her, but making her do this, it’s not Jemma. If you want to help her, let her go.”

“Please.” The one word, a simple plea from not Hive but Jemma, chilled Fitz to his very heart but he didn’t speak. He could see, he could understand that May was getting through to her, to Hive so he let her continue, knowing that it was the best for Jemma.

“Let the girl go.”

Jemma’s eyes rolled back in her head, and before she could fall to the ground, unconscious, May caught her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter is almost done so it shall be up on Wednesday. Thank you for all your support in this, I hope you enjoyed.


	8. Chapter 8

“How is she?” Daisy asked, looking up as Mack entered her room. It had been just over two weeks since they had managed to stop Hive, freeing both Jemma and Daisy from its sway, and it was taking time for the two women to recover. Time to recover from all that they had suffered, all they had went through. All that they had been forced to do.

Mack sighed, sitting in the seat next to the bed, trying not to notice as Daisy moved slightly away from him as though she were scared. “She hasn’t moved. Not yet anyway.”

“I don’t blame her,” Daisy whispered, knowing just what Jemma was going through, knowing just what was racing through her mind. She had thought the withdrawal was bad at first but this, the pain that came after, reliving everything, it was worse. It was such much worse. “It felt weird,” she continued, opening up for the first time, saying what it was like for the first time. She didn’t want to but there was a part of her that yearned to speak, that was forcing her to say these words, and she just wasn’t strong enough to fight it. “Like I knew what I was doing, why I was doing it… I wanted to do it, to please Hive, to make it like me but I also didn’t want to do it, like there was a part of me screaming at me not to do it.” She frowned, her face scrunching up in confusion. “Does that make sense?”

Mack nodded, not fully understanding what Daisy was talking about but having a good enough understanding. He had been affected by an alien object once (and in his opinion, it was still one time too many), and knew what it was like not to be in control of his actions. “We don’t blame you, you understand that.” His tone was soft, gentle, and he really hoped that he could get through to her, but he knew that it would take time, the it would take a while for her to come to terms with what had happened.

Daisy remained motionless for a moment, taking in Mack’s words. Whilst under the influence, both she and Jemma had killed people who were innocent, people who didn’t deserve to be killed and some of those people… they had suffered horrible deaths, they had died in agony, had died screaming in pain. Screams that tormented her every night. “I killed them,” she finally settled on. “You didn’t…” She shook her head, closing her eyes. She felt tears well behind them. “I nearly killed Fitz.” She could still see him, begging her to let him go while she just used her powers to hold him there, threatening him.

“But you’re both alive, Daisy,” Mack told her and she felt a sudden weight on the bed, and his arms wrap around her. “And that’s all that matters. We’ll worry about what comes next when we have to.”

And at first, she tried to fight his embrace, but eventually, she allowed herself to sink into it, allowed herself to be comforted as she began to cry tears she had been holding back for so long.

***

“Jemma?”

When she heard him call his name, she curled up tighter in a ball on the bed, huddled under the sheets and blankets. It had been over two weeks now since the team had rescued her, freeing her from Hive’s possession but it hurt, it still hurt. It was a dull ache behind her temples that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get rid off. Eventually, she had stopped trying, allowed the pain to remain.

She deserved it after all, after all the pain and death she caused, after all she did to those people, those innocent people. How she had tortured them, using them as though they were nothing more than lab rats.

“Jemma.” His voice, soft and worried, knocked her out of her thoughts, snapping her back to reality. She felt her bed dip under his weight and she squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to stop the tears but failing.

She wanted him to go away. She really did. She loved him, and he was her best friend, the most important person to her in the whole entire world but right now, she didn’t want him here. She wanted to be alone. She didn’t deserve visitors, friends. Not after what she had done. Not since she morphed into this monster.

“Jems, hey…”

She knew that she would have to speak, that she would have to speak to Fitz eventually, that she couldn’t keep this up. “Why?” she asked, her voice low, cracking. “Why are you being so kind to me?”

“’Cause you’re my friend,” he replied, and she feels his hand come to rest on her, nice, gentle, reassuring and more than she deserves at this point. And it only caused her to break down in tears, her composure gone, and all the hurt and the pain she had suffered finally escaping her, and she felt like she were shattering, into a hundred thousand shards of glass.

She rolled over, facing him, her face very probably tear-stained at this point in time. “But I hurt all those people, I _killed_ them all…”

“That wasn’t you,” he interrupted, reaching over and wiping away a tear. “That wasn’t you Jemma.”

“I can still hear them,” she told him, staring up at him with wide eyes. His own of blue roamed her face, and she could tell that he felt so sorry for her, something that only added to the whirlpool that was swirling around in her head. She was drowning in it, and she knew soon it would be hard to breathe. “I can still see them, Fitz…” She shook her head, the sheets rustling under her. “I want it to stop, I want the pain to go away.”

Fitz didn’t speak for a moment, just reached over and stroked her hair, something that Jemma allowed him to do, and despite how simple the action was, how simple the gesture was, it helped to soothe some of the anxiety in himself. It was the first time since Jemma had been freed that she had done anything, said anything. Every other time he had been in, she had curled up and ignored him. Ignored anyone who came in.

He thought back to May’s words, at what she had told him days ago, after another failed attempt at speaking to her. He thought back to Hive, and what they had said. About all the pain that Jemma was carrying, all the hurt that she had endured. And how May had told him that no matter what, she wasn’t going to carry it alone, bear the brunt of it alone any more. But how that would take time, months, maybe even years, but it would go away. Maybe not completely, maybe it would just fade to a slight tingle that would annoy her every so often but she was going to recover.

And she wasn’t going to suffer, not alone, not again.

“It will,” he whispered, pulling her into a hug, slightly awkward due to the fact that she was lying down and he was sitting beside her, but somehow, they managed something, Jemma not pulling away but instead sinking into his embrace. “It will go away Jems.” He dropped a kiss to her temple and something about it made her sob, a heart-breaking noise escaping her. “It’ll go away.”

“It doesn’t feel like it,” she whispered, sinking her head into his chest, her tears staining his shirt. He ran his hand up and down her back, holding her, reassuring her. Comforting her. Promising her that she wouldn’t be alone, not again.

“It will,” he told her, continuing to hold her as she sobbed into his chest. He wasn’t going to let her suffer anymore, he wasn’t going to let her be in pain anymore. “We’re gonna get through this…”

“Together?” she asked, her voice muffled by his shirt.

“Yeah.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's that. I am super sad that this fic is done, it was such a challenge to write in parts but it was also so much fun. I wanna say a massive thank you to everyone who supported me in this, I could never have done it without you.

**Author's Note:**

> I have read so many Will or Fitz!Hive fics but I've never read any Hive!Jemma fics so I thought why not. That's why I wrote what ever this is. Thanks for reading and I hope that you enjoyed this. Title comes from Imagine Dragons _Warriors_.


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